A coup d’état (also coup) (pronounced /kuːdeɪˈtɑː/ AHD: [ko͞o"dā tä]) is the sudden overthrow of a government by a part of the state establishment — usually the military — to replace the branch of the stricken government, either with another civil government or with a military government.

Politically, the coup d’état is a type of political engineering, generally violent (hence "strike", "blow"; French "coup"), but not always, yet differing from a revolution (by a larger, armed group to effect violent, radical change to the political system) in that the change is to the government, not the form of government.

Linguistically, coup d’état (strike of state) is French for “a strike to the state” (coup [blow], d’ [to the] état, [state]).[1] Analogously, the term also is casually used to mean gaining advantage on a rival, either by a group or a person, e.g. an intelligence coup, boardroom coup.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin , born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov , and also known as VI Lenin, Nikolai Lenin and N. Lenin, (April 22 , 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, a communist politician, the main leader of the October Revolution, the first head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1922, the first de facto leader of the Soviet Union.

there are good coups,like lenin in russia and cromwell in england and in some ways castro in cuba (he isnt a good ruler,but cuba needed to be free of the mafia that controlled it in order to prosper and it will..eventually)and there are bad ones like the countless rebellions that have left most of africa a hell hole.

lol arent there always coup d;etat's in africa, not to be racist, but isnt there always?

In the late 20th century coups occurred most commonly in developing countries, particularly in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, and especially Bolivia), Africa and Asia (Pakistan), but also in the Pacific (Fiji) and in Europe (Greece, Portugal, Spain, Soviet Union). Since the 1980s, the coup has been seen somewhat less frequently. A significant reason is the general inability to resolve the economic and political problems of developing nations, which has made armed forces, particularly in Latin America, much more reluctant to intervene in politics. Hence, in contrast to past crises, the armed forces have sat on the sidelines through economic crises such as the Asian crisis in Thailand in 1998 or the Argentine crisis of 2002 and have tended to act only when the military perceives itself as institutionally threatened by the civilian government, as occurred in Pakistan in 1999.

lol arent there always coup d;etat's in africa, not to be racist, but isnt there always?

In the late 20th century coups occurred most commonly in developing countries, particularly in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, and especially Bolivia), Africa and Asia (Pakistan), but also in the Pacific (Fiji) and in Europe (Greece, Portugal, Spain, Soviet Union). Since the 1980s, the coup has been seen somewhat less frequently. A significant reason is the general inability to resolve the economic and political problems of developing nations, which has made armed forces, particularly in Latin America, much more reluctant to intervene in politics. Hence, in contrast to past crises, the armed forces have sat on the sidelines through economic crises such as the Asian crisis in Thailand in 1998 or the Argentine crisis of 2002 and have tended to act only when the military perceives itself as institutionally threatened by the civilian government, as occurred in Pakistan in 1999.